| Abstract |
The increase in life expectancy in elderly people results in an increase of the elderly population who needs special care and health services (OECD 2005).
35% of the elderly live in eldercare facilities. These facilities offer assistance to the elderly people for the everyday tasks and support on those who have lost functional capacity (Dijkstra, 1998). The care of those needs is related with Health – Related Quality in life and wellbeing of the elderly and is associated with a dependence relationship between care givers and benefiters (Bavazzano, 1998) (Djkstra, 2000).
The changes in the life of elderly people reveal inevitably psychological implications. One of the main psychological problems that is revealed in people that live in eldercare facilities is institutionalization; a problem with devastating effect on personality. Although institution offers safety on everyday effort of survival, it can abolish the psychological safety of a person through total control of his life. Many old people feel loneliness, social seclusion and boredom after a long period of institutionalization, particularly in institutions of 100-500 people capacity.
Depression is related with many social, physical and mental problems. Depression predisposes to dementia and other diseases as it is proven. The third age (>65 years old), consists about 23% of population and is vulnerable to develop depression. Statistically, over 15% of the general elderly population has depression. This percentage increases in 25% in eldercare facilities. This fact is indicative that family and social factors trigger the disease.
A scientific field of Public Health Services concerns is the mental implications in the elderly population as a result of institutionalization. This study was motivated by the need of studying more the relationship between institutionalization and depression. Results: There was no statistic difference between male and female persons. Most
Δημόσια Υγεία & Διοίκηση Υπηρεσιών Υγείας
Τμήμα Ιατρικής – Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης
11
people in the institution had the same place of origin that is Crete and few of them were foreigners. Therefore there was homogeneity as far as place of origin concerned. Most elderly people suffered from insomnia and insecurity about the future according to their statements. Worth noticing was that over 50% of them ignored that they had a disease or they attributed other factors for their disease when they were asked about “knowledge of their disease”. 51% of the sample population had mild depression, 7% had severe depression. To the question “tendency to suicide” 13 persons were wishing of dying, or were making thoughts about committing a suicide or had already done an attempt to kill themselves. 69.2% were desperate and 54.5% had a positive history of the disorder. Remarkable finding of the study was that most depressive patients expressed feelings and thoughts of guilt for current or past failures. A remarkable percentage of patients accused themselves about having disappointed surrounding people and this fact is reinforcing to depression.
Conclusions: According to the study, the specific eldercare facility has an important contribution for social protection, loneliness, seclusion, primary health care, personnal hygiene. It provides food and accommodation, it immunizes mental and physical health and protects from social exclusion and poverty. According to the study the prevalence of depression is quite high among elderly.
Key Words: depression, elderly, satisfaction, eldercare facility
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Εφαρμογή της μεθόδου Hamilton για την μέτρηση της βαρύτητας της κατάθλιψης σε κλειστή δομή φροντίδας ηλικιωμένων στο Ηράκλειο
